New App by BBC Aims UK 3G Coverage Map

The BBC has dished out a new Android app as a part of a crowd sourcing project which will attempt to map mobile 3G coverage in the UK.

The UK 3G survey app, available for a free download from the Android Market, has been designed to record the signal people are getting on their mobile phones. BBC hopes that the project will allow people to see which network has the best coverage in their area.

The app has been developed by Epitiro, the company which worked on the Ofcom report on mobile broadband speeds.

The BBC said that the app will record signal data, in anonymous form, whenever the mobile phone is on. It will collect the data without users having to do anything. BBC also reveals that personal user information will not be collected or stored.

Users will be able to see what kind of coverage a particular area is getting by simply clicking on the app.

“It could tell us, for instance, whether our mobile networks are capable of delivering broadband connectivity in parts of the country where the fixed line service is patchy, whether coverage across cities is consistently good, and whether some operators are supplying a better service than others,” said BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.